Amazon Studios Adapting Sci-Fi Short 'True Skin' for TV (Exclusive)

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The project was previously set up at Warner Bros. as a feature, but the rights lapsed.

Stephan Zlotescu’s acclaimed short film True Skin is getting another shot at the screen, this time as a television show.

Amazon Studios has optioned the short and is developing it as a one-hour series.

The project was previously set up at Warner Bros. as a feature, but the rights lapsed, with Amazon swooping in.

Zlotescu is on board to direct the adaptation of the short, while Scott Glassgold and his newly minted production company, Ground Control, are attached to produce the series.

A search for writers is underway.

The short is set in the not-too-distant future where everyone is augmenting their bodies. The story’s hero can't afford to augment in the U.S., so he heads to the black market of Bangkok, where he gets hold of a mysterious chip that he discovers is slowly turning him robotic — and is a hot commodity wanted by shadowy forces. Zlotescu directed the short and produced it with his cinematographer, who goes by the name H1.

Zlotescu and his partner, VFX producer Vlad Caprini, are set to provide the visual effects for the adaptation through their VFX company Opticflavor. The firm is a rising entity on the VFX scene and its work has been featured in music videos for such artists as Kanye West and Lady Gaga.

Glassgold’s Ground Control, which has a first-look feature deal at Columbia Pictures, most recently set up the adaptation of Marcus Alqueres’ short film Flying Man at Sony with Chris Collins writing and Alqueres directing.